Where The Spirit Plays
by IceCoatedHeart
Summary: Eddie makes a mistake, one that he may not live to regret
1. Chapter One

"You asshole" Jane Goodale said as tears welled in her pretty brown eyes. Eddie Alden looked at Jane helplessly. "It wasn't my fault Jane," Was all he could say before a large clear blue glass vase that held gorgeous long- stemmed magnolia blue lilies flew past his head and smashed in the door frame, sending pieces of blue glass and sad looking flowers floating in their water at his feet.  
  
But everything Jane needed to convict him of was clutched in her hands. The lavender silk panties in her hands were not hers and they both knew it, so Eddie didn't even try to deny the fact that he had met a woman in a bar when Jane was away in Syracuse. "What was her name?" She demanded as she crumpled said panties and threw them at Eddie. "Katie" He said softly and Jane laughed almost cruelly.  
  
"Tell me why you did it" She said as she stared intently at the dying flowers. "I don't know why Jane, you were gone and I was missing you" Jane rolled her eyes. "1 and a half years don't mean anything to you does it?" She asked, sadness overtaking her voice. "Of course it does Jane, but you don't understand" He said helplessly and suddenly the anger was back. She was turning into a one-woman circus. "What don't I understand Eddie?" Her voice was almost a hiss.  
  
He didn't know what to say, to calm her down or to make her believe him. "I don't know what you want me to say Jane, I'm sorry" She shook her head and the tears that had been kept so well at bay began to fall. "I loved you" She sobbed out and Eddie thought that he could pinpoint the exact moment when he felt his heart rip into two. Now his own tears began to well in his eyes but he stubbornly pushed them back.  
  
"What do you want me to do Jane?" He asked softly, he wished that she would look at him, but her eyes were holding firmly on the flowers by his feet. "I want you to go" She said in a voice that was barely more then a whisper but it affected Eddie as if she had screamed it in his face. He turned her back to her and walked to the door, his footsteps nearly echoing in the loft. As he wrenched the door knob he looked at her sadly.  
  
"I wish I could turn back time so I never did what I did, but I can't. It was a mistake that I never intended to make. That day when you ran after the cab like an idiot, I knew that you were the only woman that I would ever need in my life again, but that night I was weak Jane because I am just a man. You of all people should understand how weak men are. Whatever else I tell you, you won't listen to it because I know how proud and stubborn you can be. You can disbelieve everything I've just told you but not this, if you never believe anything in the world again let this be the last thing you remember, I love you Jane"  
  
The door slowly shut behind him and Jane almost wished that he had slammed it and stormed off in a rage. They had had fights before and it was always Eddie's style to pour an ice-laden drink and stormed out of the apartment, but not tonight. His steps were slow, like an old man who wasn't sure where he was going. Jane slowly sank down to the couch where she and Eddie had spent so many cozy nights talking or watching TV or just simply being together. She sniffled and sobbed into her hands. The love of her life had just walked out the door and she didn't know if she would ever see him walk through the apartment doors again.  
  
Eddie walked along the side of the East River and looked into the midnight blue waters that swirled and splashed along the rafters of the East River Bridge. The wind was ice cold and made the wet trail of tears on his cheeks burn before he angrily wiped them away with the back of his hand. He ran a hand over his dark brown hair and gave a watery sigh.  
  
Sleeping with Katie Dawson was one of the worst mistakes he had made in his life, and he had made a lot. He was lonely and a pretty young redhead was paying attention to him and with enough bourbon and loneness in his system, he had let Katie convince him to take her up to his apartment. She had been soft and obedient and didn't stay late in the morning as some of his previous exploits were known to do.  
  
He should have stayed in the apartment and watched the Yankees kill the Braves with his own supply of beer and whiskey, but he had found his way down to the bar and that was when the trouble began. Suddenly he realized what he had been doing to all the women whose hearts he had broken and he felt sick. He never fought that being rejected could hurt as much as it did; it was like feeling someone sticking a needle into his heart and draining everything that kept it alive.  
  
The time on his watch was just rounding two in the morning and all the lights in the houses and buildings were kept wisely off, as if they knew that he would be passing through. He dipped his hand inside his thin coat pocket and retrieved a small box which held a classy diamond ring. Had Helena's underwear not been found, he would have asked her to marry him that night; he knew exactly what he was going to say.  
  
The garder between the river and the walkway was still slick from the rain that morning, he remembered he thought that Jane would like to have a little garden bow outside the bedroom window so she could grow and tend her flowers that she kept in pots around the apartment and babied. The cold wind returned and teased his mused dark brown hair and he sighed then cursed himself viciously. He looked up at the burnished silver moon and millions of twinkling stars and settled on a still semi-damp bench and ignored that fact that his pants were getting wet.  
  
He rested his head in his hands and didn't know for how long he didn't move, he just sat there in the chilly New York morning that reminded him that fall was yielding to winter and that the snow would soon encrust the ground, pavement and grass alike. His breath came out in white puffs when he lifted his head up. He had come to his conclusion. A second wind came in, more harsh then before and ripped at his lean body.  
  
The railing was slippery and ice cold as he placed a hand over it, his fingers clenched it in consideration and he sighed. He looked over the side of the railing and examined the drop. It was a good 300 feet from the bridge to the river. The water was said to be 20 degrees this time of year and if the fall didn't kill him the hypothermia would.  
  
With a sigh as bitter as the wind, he hoisted himself up onto the railing, careful not to let his feet slip out from under him. He balanced himself for a minute, looking down into the swirling dark waters that would consume him. His breath came faster in thick white puffs of steam and he closed his eyes. Another wind came by and nearly shoved him off the garder.  
  
When another wind came, it was unusually warmer; he thought he could hear a woman calling his name on the wind. He looked over his shoulder yet saw no one. He sighed deeply and slowly urged himself off the garder to the pavement again. "It's not worth it" He said to himself softly and took a step back as if to examine the garder and the river.  
  
He shuffled his feet slowly as he walked along the road and glanced at all the unlit apartment buildings and offices. Rain began to fall again, softly at first then harder and harder until it was driving and ice cold. Tomorrow the roads would ice like Jane's heart and people would abandon the public transportation and walk, crowding the streets even more.  
  
He began to prep himself for what he was going to say to Jane when he got back. He would convince her that he would be faithful to her from that moment now, and then he would get down on one knee and make her his wife. Armed with his speech, he crossed the four-way intersection. So focused on his speech and how he would kiss Jane and make her knees turn weak, he didn't notice the rumble of a car motor was it drove down the nearly deserted street with it's headlights off, by the time he did notice, it was almost right on top of him, and the really funny thing was, the car didn't stop even for a second. 


	2. Chapter Two

Jane was still cursing his name when she got the call. Without knowing what else she could do, she called Liz. Together they drove to St.Simon Memorial and raced towards the building. "Where is he?" Jane demanded as she launched herself upon the young desk clerk who looked frightened. "Who ma'am?" She asked politely, through Jane's sudden attack had strained her nerves. "Eddie Alden! He was brought in. He was brought in, he was hit by a car" The nurse whose tag read 'Renee' began to type into the computer. "Spell his last name ma'am?" Jane wanted to wrap her hands around the woman's neck. "A L D E N. God what the fuck is the matter with you people?!"  
  
A white-coated doctor strolled up while Liz comforted Jane with soothing strokes and pats. "Hello my name is Ryan English. Are you friends or relatives of an Edward Jacob Alden?" "I'm his girlfriend" Jane said quickly and turned to Liz. "This is Elizabeth Matthews, a friend of his. How is he?" English seemed hesitant so avoided answering the question. "I'm going to need you to answer some questions about Mr.Alden for his medical chart. He led Jane and Liz to a row of ugly yellow chairs and sat them down. "Now how old is he?" "Eddie's turning 28 in 4 days" English nodded and scribbled down some notes. He asked them a barrage of questions almost bouncing from if he were allergic to anything to the picture of a blue bunny he drew in the 1st grade.  
  
"How is he?" Jane demanded when English closed the notebook slowly and rose. "I will be blunt with you," He said and held up a hand as Jane tried to rise too. "You might want to stay seated" He advised and Liz eased Jane back into the seat. "Your boyfriend has a lot of trauma mostly to the head and that's never an easy situation. "We've closed what we can but there is a lot of internal bleeding, if we can't get it drained in time and find a suiting match, then there is a possibility that he might drown in his own blood"  
  
Jane felt a sickly thick bile claw its way up her throat and she pressed her head into her hands and a moan escaped her lips. "There is another possibility," English began and Jane looked up sharply. "That he'll pull through, the by amount of scars we found on his body, it seems like he's a survivor. But if he does, all the signs point to that he will be brain- dead" Jane nodded and turned to Liz. "Why don't you get a soda from the cafeteria or something?" Liz regarded her slowly. "Are you going to be ok?" Jane plastered a fake smile on her unpainted lips. "Yeah". Reluctantly, Liz rose from the seats and once she left, Jane returned her dark gaze to English.  
  
"What exactly," She began as she massaged her tired eyes. "Is the chance that he'll live?" English seemed to pause for a moment as he polished his glasses on the white front of his coat. "I won't lie to you," He said and continued when Jane said nothing. "The odds aren't in his favor at 25%. With all his injuries he shouldn't be alive right now" Jane felt as if the ground beneath her feet was crumbling. "It was my fault he walked out," She said as the uncontrollable tears began to tumble down her cheeks. "We had had a fight and he walked out. If I hadn't been such a bitch then he would be alright now"  
  
Sympathy began to stir in English for Jane. "There's no accounting for why these sort of things happen Miss.Goodale, but that 25% chance is still there, so all hope is not lost" He squeezed Jane's hand reassuringly then a nurse with a blood smeared shirt came and Jane felt her heart drop. The nurse whispered something in English's ear and he gaze Jane an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Miss.Goodale but I have to go back to the room. I suggest that you go home and try to rest and we will call you if anything happens" Jane shook her head. "No, I want to stay here with him" Realizing that she wasn't going to leave the hospital willfully he nodded. "Alright, I'll have Nurse Renee Parker set up an empty bed for you" Jane smiled gratefully and followed the nurse down the opposite hallway.  
  
It was about 2 in the morning when Jane heard people running through the halls. For a moment she was in a panic because she couldn't remember where she was. Then when she heard the intercom calling out the names of random doctors and nurses, the realization came with the fresh hot lick of fear. When they called for Ryan English, Jane began to grope for her cell phone to call Liz. When Liz arrived at the hospital, she was a little groggy but alert all the same, she looked shrunken in her oversized Mets T-shirt and jogging pants, but her eyes were clear and she was at Jane's side all the same.  
  
There was nothing that Jane or Liz could do and they felt helpless and they hated it. Slowly the pace returned to normal and Jane and Liz waited in the corridor to see if they could grab English to shake information out of him. But English was no where to be found and Renee insisted that she didn't know either, though Jane suspected that the pretty brunette nurse was holding information out on her. Jane paced up and down the corridor like a restless tiger and Liz followed her with her eyes while she played with the hem of her shirt and got the attention of the cute male intern she only knew as Will.  
  
Then they saw English walking down the hall, his steps sharp and crisp yet a little doggy. His chocolate brown hair fell in front of his dark green eyes as if he had just recovered from a mad dash. As he got closer, Jane noticed that the youthful color had gone from his face and in its place was a pale flush that made Jane's nerves stand on the edge of hysteria. "How is he?" Liz asked when Jane didn't, she seemed frozen in place. English regarded then silently for a minute, taking in their appearance and situation. He placed his hands lightly on Jane's shoulders and took a deep breath.  
  
"We had thought that we found a matching donor" He said slowly and before Jane or Liz had the time to say anything, he continued. "However, Edward's body rejected it and the second donor that he had on list turned out to be infected with AIDS. The nurses didn't pick it up when they screened the blood, and the man who gave us the blood didn't seem to think it was important to tell us that he had AIDS" While he paused, Jane took the opportunity to talk. "But if it were a match, then why didn't you give it to him?" English raised a dark eyebrow. "Because it would infect him with the virus" Jane simply pushed it aside. "He would recover from the accident though right?" "Yes," English said on the verge of impatient. "But he would suffer from AIDS and it would just be a matter for 1 to 4 years until he dies from it"  
  
Liz rubbed the back of Jane's tense back and motioned for English to tell them whatever he had come to say. "The point of the case is ladies that since we couldn't use the second donor and his body rejected the first so violently it only added to the accident trauma," He paused, seeming to try to find another way to approach the matter. "Everyone did all they could," Jane's eyes transformed into smoky brown dinner plates "But it wasn't enough and sadly, his pulse and blood dropped at around 1:45 this morning and the residents on call did everything that they could due to revive him, but it wasn't enough. I'm very sorry"  
  
Liz dropped into the chair with her head in her hands while Jane simply stood there frozen. "Excuse me?" She heard herself say dumbly. Sympathy swirled in English and he stroked a lean hand over Jane's shoulder and down her arm. "He died at around 2:15. The residents and I did everything that they taught us to do, we even pulled things out of our asses to revive him, but nothing worked. I'm so sorry, I know how hard this must be on you" Jane took a deep wavering breath and slowly collapsed against English. A heartbroken moan escaped her lips and English caught her in his surprisingly strong arms. 


	3. Chapter Three

From crossing the street to waking up, being in the large brightly lit room was the first thing that Eddie could remember. People were mulling around but no one seemed to be paying any real attention to him, only the few fluttering looks the young girls gave him that he really didn't understand in the first place. Suddenly out of no where, a little girl about 6-years- old came running up to him and took his hand in her pale one. "Are you Eddie then?" She said cheerfully in an accent tinted with London. "Yes" He said slowly and the girl beamed. "Wonderful, I'm Hailey Carter. She is every excited to meet you, come with me"  
  
Helpless and confused and what else to do, Eddie let Hailey pull him down the hallway. "Where are we going?" Eddie asked as they came upon a big white door with a tiny window slit at the top. Hailey turned and stared at him with her big sea green eyes. "You mean you don't know?" When Eddie shook his head, Hailey pouted. "Most people don't know, but I did. I knew right away" She seemed sad so Eddie stroked a hand down her fine dark gold hair. "Knew what Hailey?" She didn't answer for a moment. "That I was dead, like you are, and like her" Hailey said as she pointed to an old lady walking past them.  
  
Eddie felt shock waves travel through him at amazing speeds as he looked down at Hailey and a thought struck him. Had he seen her on the street, he would think that she were a normal happy girl. "I think there's been some mistake, see, I'm not dead" Hailey sighed and ran a hand through her own hair that was almost comically grown up for a child her age. "It's a bit much to take in at first I know, but you'll come to realize in time" Eddie shook his head. "I think I must have hit my head on something" He said as he rubbed the back of his head and looked down at Hailey who was regarding him with such bloody patience.  
  
"Alright then," He said after a length of time. "If I'm dead, then how did I die?" Hailey pushed open the door but didn't go in, nor she did she prompt Eddie to. "You were hit by a car, also you suffered from blood rejection at the hospital" The dark clouds that seemed to be gathering in the doorway swirled and suddenly separated and Eddie could see Jane being lowered in a chair by a handsome doctor in a white coat that was rolled up to the elbows and smeared with blood. She was crying and Liz gathered her into her arms while they cried together.  
  
"I want to go see her" Eddie said to Hailey but she shook her small head. "You will have to talk to Gretchen Morris before you're allowed to visit earth again. But I was told that yours was a special case, so I'm not sure how she will deal with you" Hailey pointed a delicate finger down the hall to the second room on the left and Eddie, without asking, went there and pulled the door open. Of all the things he had expected to see, he didn't expect a pretty woman about 20 at the most with free flowing hair and vibrant burnished gold eyes sitting behind a very business like desk with a set expression on her young face that was the color of strawberries and cream.  
  
"Are you Gretchen?" He asked unsurely, a smile tipped the corners of her unpainted mouth. "Yes I am," It was strange to Eddie how her voice seemed to echo and bounce off the stark white walls. "I was told to come talk to you" She rose from behind the desk and Eddie was surprised to see that she barely came up to his shoulders. "You have a troubled soul Eddie," She said in a voice softened with sympathy. "You have unfinished business" Eddie wanted to laugh but he guessed that this wasn't the kind of thing that you were supposed to laugh at. "You wouldn't happen to know what it is would you." He asked with a hint of sarcasm that Gretchen didn't seem to catch on to.  
  
"I do, yes" She took his palm and stroked her long lean fingers over the lines in his palm. "You have yet to find your true love" Eddie pulled away and looked at Gretchen angrily. "I found my true love, her name is Jane Goodale" Gretchen smiled softly and shook her head. "You only think that she is because you are tired to searching" Eddie growled and Gretchen's smile just stretched a little wider. "I know what makes you tick, so to speak, Mr.Alden" Gretchen said and flipped her hair over her shoulder and let it cascade down her back like an ebony waterfall.  
  
"I've had a talk with your inner-cupid," She said as she paced the room in a manner that had Eddie gaping. Gretchen wasn't walking around the room at all; she was more floating 7 inches off the ground. Her summer green dress drifted at her bare heels and Eddie found himself being more confused by the minute. "It seems that he is unsatisfied, so until you find you're true love and make the choice, you can not stay here in Heaven" Eddie began to laugh uncontrollably. Gretchen simply leaned back against the desk and waited for him to compose himself. "This is Heaven and next I suppose that you're going to tell me that you're God"  
  
"What if I tell you that I am?" She asked softly and that only caused Eddie to throw himself into a more violent laughing fit. She was very still till he stopped and when he did, she calmly regarded him with her pretty eyes and made him feel very uncomfortable very quickly. "Firstly God is supposed to be a man" He said as he wagged his finger at Gretchen's crepe dress. "Old wives stories, they like to blame a man when something goes wrong, it's easier for them then to blame themselves I guess" Eddie rolled his eyes, easily dismissing what Gretchen had said. "And secondly," He went on as if she had never said anything in the first place. "You look nothing like God. I mean you're floating and all and that's kind of freaky but you want me to believe that you're the one that billions of people pray to?"  
  
"You never did" Gretchen said easily with a hint of accusation in her voice. Eddie shook his head though Gretchen caught the flush that started to creep up his cheeks. "I have a belief that people need to take responsibility for their own actions" Gretchen turned her back to him and started to ruffle through a stack of papers and handed him one with a picture of a man about fifty with stone gray hair and dark eyes pinned to it. "Who's this?" Eddie asked confused. "Christopher Malone, Sergeant Christopher Malone actually. 49 years old, 4 children and one on the way to being married. He prayed every night of his life but that didn't stop the bullet from the gun" Eddie's mouth turned into a sneer. "That's right it didn't" Gretchen took the paper from him and set it back down with infinite care. "Yes, but he came here to stay instead of having to go back and finish like you have to"  
  
There was a brilliant flash of light and Eddie was in the hallway again with Hailey gripping his hand again. "How did it go?" She asked and Eddie just looked down at her blankly. Hailey smiled a pretty little girl smile of innocence and gently tugged Eddie down the hall. "Will I be able to see Jane?" He asked and Hailey looked up at him with shock running through her eyes. "Did Gretchen not tell you?" Eddie seemed puzzled. "Well she told me that since I have 'unfinished business' that I have to go down and finish it, but that's really it" Pity stirred inside Hailey's eyes and she didn't bother to mask it. "Since you walked into Gretchen Morris's office, one hundred years have passed and Jane is no longer living"  
  
Eddie jumped back. "Then isn't she here?" This time Hailey only shook her head. "No. Well she is, but she is kept so that neither of you will be able to find one another" Eddie clenched his teeth and growled impatiently at the little girl who was actually nearly 238 years old. "What would I have to do to get this unfinished business taken care of?" He asked almost angrily and Hailey walked him a little ways down the hallway to a thick oak door that stood out with it gleaming brown against the stark white walls. "Walk through this door and you will be inside you're apartment 100 years from now. However, you can only travel 60,000 miles from the apartment"  
  
Deciding that 60,000 miles would give him good coverage, he nodded. "Now remember," Hailey said as he pulled the door open and gave her a questioning glance. "If you fall in love with her and she falls in love with you, then you MUST tell her the truth" Eddie seemed to weigh the options. "What if I don't find the love of my life?" "Then you will remain earth bound until you do. If your love is strong enough to withhold the truth, then you will have to make a very important decision" Nodding, Eddie took a step forward and looked over the edge of the doorway, nothing but blank empty space. Then with a final breath, he took the last steps into the doorway, and then the door slammed behind him. Plunging him into darkness and space. 


	4. Chapter Four

The first thing that shocked Eddie was that he was back inside his old apartment. Then he began to notice the not so little things, like how it had a different air to it, and the mountains of brown boxes that were scattered and piled upon one another all through out the loft. There was a sound of ruffling coming from within the cavernous boxes and Eddie followed the sound. What he didn't expect to see was a woman with tight ringlets of pale marigold framing her determined face fighting with tape from on of the boxes. A chuckle escaped Eddie's mouth before he could prevent it and the woman looked up sharply.  
  
"Who are you?" She demanded, trying to feel for the box cutter for protection, but since it was by Eddie's feet; he simply bent down and pocketed it in his jeans to put it in a place the woman probably wouldn't go right away. "Eddie Alden" He said easily and shifted his stance so that the cutter wasn't digging into his thigh. Her Cupid's bow mouth which was already driving Eddie crazy pulled into a little pout. "Did my brother send you here to scare me?" She asked and sat on her heels to look up at Eddie. A little confused, Eddie shook his head. "No darlin'," He said in a slow drawl. "I don't know you're brother" Fear began to creep into her eyes. "So then Ty didn't send you?" She asked again. "As I said, I don't know your brother"  
  
She was up like a shot and darting past him. Before he could think of what else to do, he started after her then winced when the box cutter gouged at his leg, he stopped it yank it out of his pocket which gave the woman an advantage, not that she needed it, she could run like a rabbit. When he found her, she was in what used to be his bedroom, picking up the cord telephone and rapidly dialing a barrage of numbers. She froze when Eddie came in the room and he slowly took the receiver from her hand and placed it back in the cradle.  
  
"Please don't kill me" She pleaded as she lowered herself to the bed. Eddie was confused until he remembered that he still had the box cutter in his hand. On the brink of amused and disgusted, he tossed it across the room. "I'm not going to kill you. Why would I?" She seemed confused. "I don't know, do you people need a motive these days?" He smiled and gave her a very obvious once-over and he noticed that she deliberately crossed her legs. He rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to rape you either so you can relax. What's your name?" She nervously began to play with an end of one of her curls. "Caitlyn, Caitlyn Murphy"  
  
Eddie smiled and it made Caitlyn's heart flutter a little. "Well Caitlyn Murphy, I'm not going to kill, rape or even hurt you. See this used to be my apartment." He took the time to thoroughly examine her now. Flawless skin that was the color of pale Italian gold, big glittering eyes that he supposed got him the most, the sleek feline green, he supposed this was so because although he had known a million women with green eyes before, he had never met one with the pure green, they had always had flecks of blue or gold or gray, but her eyes were only the catty green. A long lean body that he decided would feel good underneath him. He shook his head and decided that that was an annoyance for another day. Added to it round soft looking breasts and long tapered artist fingers that were tipped with neatly manicured nails. She made quiet the package.  
  
"Well this is my apartment now," Caitlyn said tilting her head to the side so she looked like royalty dismissing a peasant. "So I am asking you nicely to leave" Eddie smiled and Caitlyn began to feel a bit helpless. She switched and toyed with the end of her baby pink tank top that she slept in and was cut low to reveal hints of her creamy gold cleavage not that Eddie minded much, just because he was dead didn't mean that he didn't have the same urges that he did when he was alive. A small frown crossed his mouth. It was those damn urges that got him in all this trouble in the first place. "I wish I could leave Duchess," Eddie said slowly and picked up a shiny red apple from a bowl "But I have orders that I can't leave the apartment" It was a lie but Caitlyn would never know. "Who do you have orders from?" Eddie's smile became thin. "Gretchen Morris" He said and pointed upwards. "I think you must have hit your head on something on the way over here" Eddie smiled. He remembered thinking that himself. "Maybe," He said, getting an idea in his head, clutching his head, he stumbled and lurched slightly. Being a naïve, Caitlyn rushed to help him keep his balance. "You should come lie down" She cooed to him and Eddie grinned to himself. She eased him, or tried to since he was about a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier then she, into a plush pale blue couch that smelled faintly like gingerbread. "Thank you," Eddie murmured into one of the pillows and decided now was as good a time as any to get some sleep.  
  
Caitlyn took the time to take a step back and evaluate the man who had suddenly appeared in her apartment and was now sleeping contently on her couch. She wasn't going to pretend that he wasn't an interesting prospect because he was. He had the tall dark and handsome thing going on that she could definitely appreciate and the knock at the door brought Caitlyn back before she realized that she was already getting a crush on the mysterious and a bit touched man. She turned to unbolt the door and pulled it open to see Ty Murphy's insultingly handsome face.  
  
"How's my baby sister doing?" He asked with his cocky and somehow arrogant smile that he never lost from childhood. "I'm great," She squealed as she jumped into his arms. "Why didn't you tell me that New York was such an amazing place?" Ty laughed a rich rolling sound that Caitlyn loved to listen to and set her safely back onto the floor of the apartment. "Not so much like Georgia now is it?" He asked and she blushed slightly. "Even the people are different, a strange man showed up in my apartment about half an hour ago out of no where. He said it was his old apartment" Ty seemed to freeze. "Well Caitlyn did you call the police?" He demanded and when Caitlyn just gave him a bland look he shook her quickly. "This isn't Savannah anymore sweetheart; it isn't just a safe place"  
  
He pulled out his cell phone to dial 911 but Caitlyn put a gentle hand on his wrist. "I know that Ty, but don't you think that he were going to rape or kill me he would have done it by now? Besides he's sleeping on the couch" Ty rolled his eyes that were a shade of smoky money green compared to Caitlyn's and for some reason that she would never be able to understand, girls loved his eyes. Not that the rest of his was bad, he had a tall lean frame and was surprisingly strong for someone who sat behind a desk all day. He dyed his sunny blonde hair to a dark brown because he claimed blonde was 'juvenile' yet he always kept it neatly cut and his fingers always seemed to be manicured His skin was a darker gold then hers and when he got angry, as he was now, his Italian accent deepened and always made heads turn. He gave Caitlyn the illusion of an Italian prince who had just stepped out of a story book and into an Armani suit. "He's still here?" He shook his head "Honestly Catie do you want to be murdered on the second day here?" Caitlyn pouted prettily and Ty hissed out a breath. "You never did have any common sense. Has he tried to do anything?" "No," Caitlyn said and gently fingered that apple that Eddie had left on the counter.  
  
Ty stormed from out of the kitchen to the living room and saw Eddie's sleeping frame curled in the couch. He was a good 4 inches taller then Ty, but lean and more sleek looking, almost feral. Like the Devil's son. Ty smiled to himself. The Devil's Son was a the first thing that Caitlyn had painted, the painting of the man with burning dark eyes and black as night hair as flames swirled around him was the first one accepted by Gulliver's to be hung on the walls of the prestigious art house, however not the last. It seemed like a million years ago that Caitlyn was a 15 year-old girl covered in head to toe with paint or god knows what else while she giggled with her best friend Lara Wilkes, who Ty ended up marrying. A pretty thing with a cap of starry black hair and a brilliant smile, Ty was absolutely in love with her. He had come to tell Caitlyn that Lara was pregnant, but he had other things on his mind due to Abby's trusting nature.  
  
Eddie stirred in his deep sleep and murmured something that Ty couldn't hear, but brought his attention back to Eddie from his daydreamy travel back in time. He was a handsome bugger, he had to give him that, but Ty still didn't plan to trust him. He loved his sister, but Caitlyn had always had her head up in the clouds. When their mother died and their father had gone into a recluse, it had been Ty's job to pay the bills and auditors while Caitlyn brought home every stray puppy and wounded bird she could find. When he left for New York to pursue a career as lawyer, he supposed that the house would be full of animals and Abby would be living without hot water or electricity, seeing as how she would never pay the bills on time.  
  
It was too early for Ty to be terribly annoyed by Eddie, so he simply turned on his heels and walked back into the kitchen where Caitlyn was sipping a glass s of white wine. No matter what the situation, from either changing a car tire in the middle of Nowhere Nevada or sitting at the opera, Caitlyn could always be classy. "Do whatever you want with him" Ty said temperamentally, but if he puts a toe out of line, send him over to me" He bent and scribbled his address on a napkin and handed it to Caitlyn. "Alright but you'd have to come here," She said a she tucked the napkin in the pocket of her jeans. "Why?" Caitlyn sighed as if the answer were obvious. "Just because," Caitlyn began to make something up quickly so that he wouldn't think she was totally insane. "He really hit his head, and traveling downtown might be bad for him" Ty rolled his eyes in exasperation and left.  
  
Slightly irritated by the visit of her brother, she rummaged through the kitchen and pulled out a pan to make some breakfast. Eddie woke to the intoxicating smell of eggs and bacon sizzling in a frying pan. He uncurled himself from the surprisingly comfortable couch and followed the sound of Caitlyn singing softly to herself. He didn't know the song but he liked the sound of her voice as she sang it. Soft and almost heartbreakingly sad, but it had a silky texture that the ear couldn't deny. He found her standing over a skillet with a spatula in hand, expertly flipping sunny side eggs. He smiled at the glass of wine that was half empty and beaded with perspiration from the coolness of the air.  
  
"A little early to start drinking don't you think?" He asked with a smirk. She glanced up at him, sleep agreed with him, the hollows in his cheeks were gone as well as the bags from under his eyes. "In New York, I didn't know anyone stopped" Eddie laughed and Caitlyn had to smile as it was a friendly sound. "So," He said as he leaned against the counter that the cool gray marble had replaced the black wood. "Are you going to make me some breakfast or make me beg?" Caitlyn grinned and flipped the eggs and bacon onto the plates to accompany the toast.  
  
"Well I would make you beg if I were mean, but I'm feeling charitable today. Would you like coffee, or maybe some wine to drink?" "Coffee's fine," He said and settled himself into watching Caitlyn move about the kitchen. She poured the coffee into a plum color mug with a small chip on the handle and passed it to him. Taking a sip, he decided that Abby was the only one he ever wanted to make his coffee again. When she set two plates onto the counter, he grinned and knew that the eggs were just out of the pan and steaming hot, but the fragrance they gave out made him want to risk a scalded tongue.  
  
"Did you just move to New York?" Eddie asked as he dashed salt onto the eggs which had more to do with habit then with the flavor of the eggs, which was exceptional. "Yeah, from Savannah Georgia," She said as she took a sip of her wine. "My brother Tyler, or Ty is what we call him, he came up about two years before me, he's a lawyer now over at Jarred and Kaminski" Eddie had no idea who Jarred or Kaminski was and didn't care was, but he nodded as if he did. "Kind of a difference in areas don't you think?" He asked as he watched Caitlyn over the rim of his cup.  
  
"Well yes," She said as she seemed to examine the question. "The pace is Georgia was slower, even if you visited Atlanta it wasn't as busy as Manhattan. At first I wanted to move to California, Redlands, maybe Los Angeles, to kind of ease my way into the rush of it all, y'know to kind of get my feet wet, but from what Ty had been telling me of New York City, I just had to jump right in. What about you? Did you always live in New York? I know that some people live in Brooklyn or Long Island and they don't really consider it New York because well..."  
  
Eddie grinned from ear to ear. God she was cute. Sophisticated when she wanted to be and just innocent enough to be insanely sexy and irresistibly cute at the same time. "No, I've never lived in New York at all actually till I was 17, when I was little, only about 8 or 9 years old, my Dad moved us from smack in the middle of Clinton Missouri where at most there are 3,500 to Manhattan where there are 204,000 and it seems like all of them are out on the streets at the same time, but it was great and I guess I adjusted right away because when the family moved back when I was 17, I stayed here and it's here I've been ever since" He didn't consider the fact that he was dead and in Heaven for 100 years before he got back to New York to be a lie.  
  
"I've been here two days," She said as she paused to take a sip of coffee. "And I love it, it's amazing" Eddie smiled at her and Caitlyn had to fight to keep her hands still. Eddie examined her face and nodded. "So far concrete and steel agree with you. I used to go to the New York Public Library for hours-" He stopped when he remembered that 100 years had passed by, and the Library had probably been closed or run down for years. But Caitlyn just keep looking at him and smiling patiently, like she knew what he was talking about. "And read whatever I could get my hands on. Sometimes I wouldn't even check out a book, it would just sit in one of those big very comfortable chairs by the window and just read"  
  
Caitlyn nodded. "It was something like that in Georgia, only instead of staring into another building, we saw grass and trees and this lovely little stream that snaked by" Eddie watched her as she talked, she rarely gesticulated with her hands, which he found that New York women did, but Caitlyn sat very proper, head level and her beautiful hair framing her face that some would call angelic, but Eddie had an idea that when she was passionate about something, there wasn't anything angelic about it. "Well," Eddie said and shifted his position. "I found that if you sit in the right spot on the top floor, you can see this patch of woods and a little river or whatever"  
  
Caitlyn smiled, making her amazing eyes seemingly glow. "Tell me about your family" Eddie said abruptly. Caitlyn seemed a little taken back, but once she regained her composure, she grinned quickly and gave Eddie an idea of a pixie about to play a prank. "Well I'm Italian right?" She asked and Eddie didn't know what else to do but nod. "Well, Italian women are supposed to marry young and pop out babies. My aunt is the best cook in the family, so for Christmas which is a huge deal for us by the way, and all the men do is eat and eat and degrade women, and the women sit around and sip coffee and talk about how gross men are. It's wonderful"  
  
Eddie grinned. "How many brothers or sisters do you have?" Caitlyn sighed through a grin. "Well let's see now," She spread out her fingers of her right hand and began. "There is Jonathan, at 35 which makes him the oldest and the owner of the restaurant in Atlanta, then there are the triplets, Oliver, Danny and Christina, they're 30, then there's Ty who's 28, then there is Isadora and Julia, 10 months apart, they're both 25 from each other if you can believe it, and there's me, then there are the twins Lindsey and Tim. So not including me, I have seven brothers and sisters" Eddie seemed a little shocked. "Wow, I was thinking maybe two or three" Caitlyn laughed and shook her head which made her curls dance.  
  
"Haha, you'd like that wouldn't you? Oh! And they're all married. So let's count all of them as well. Jonathan married Quinn, Oliver married Evita, Danny married Iris, Christina married Jim Donovan, Ty married my best friend Lara, Isadora married Geoffrey Winters, and Julie married Lucas Carpenter, Tim whose 19 married his high school girlfriend Penelope, but we all call her Penny, and Lindsey is getting married this fall to this really great guy she met named Adam Franconi. I am the only one in my family who isn't married. All of them are scattered over the country now except for Jonathan who still lives in Georgia. But we all get together at someone's house for Christmas, this year we're supposed to go to Oliver and Evita's house and ranch in North Carolina, so everyone is going to cram there and bring however many children they might have"  
  
Eddie smiled at the sweet flush that was riding on Caitlyn's cheeks when she finished. "You adore your family though" He said after a while and took a sip of the cooling coffee. "Of course I do. Tell me about your family, brothers and sisters" Eddie paused for a moment and smiled. "I only have two younger siblings, my brother Jamie who's 25 and my sister Rose who just turned 23. Jamie got married three years ago to a pretty French girl named Annabelle, and had kids, two girls named Sarah and Amelie And Rose isn't married because she is in fact a lesbian, but she does have a girlfriend, Nicole" Caitlyn stifled a laugh but when Eddie smiled she decided that he wouldn't be offended if she laughed. Not that she found that sort of thing funny, but the way that he said it made her want to smile.  
  
Caitlyn laughed and Eddie tried to convince himself not to notice how all the features that were already perfect about Caitlyn became even more obvious. Her pixie-nose wrinkled and her pretty mouth curved, even her hands looked more delicate looking when she laughed. He quickly shook himself from his dreaming about her and tried to compose himself. "I want to take you somewhere," Caitlyn said suddenly and grabbed Eddie's hand. She nearly hauled him to his feet as she was stronger then she looked and took him to the door. As she examined his clothes, she determined that the loose black slacks and the gray shirt looked alright on him, but it would never do for where they were going to be. "Scratch that, make it two places," Caitlyn murmured and pulled Eddie out the door. 


	5. Chapter Five

Judging by Caitlyn's character, Eddie supposed that she would have a sweet and homely car, something childishly bright and annoying, or something flashy and ostentatious. So he was shocked when he saw her pull out the clicker for the stream-line Honda S2000, but the color fitted Caitlyn, it matched her smooth style and also her playfulness as the car was the deep glittering amethyst. Normally Eddie would have worried about being driven in a purple car, but he was too busy to worry about that, the car was running so smoothly it barely seemed as if they were driving at all, rather gliding across glass.  
  
Caitlyn looked so pretty drenched in the early morning sunlight that he figured that if she looked any more perfect that his heart would stop and he would die on the spot. She stopped the car and turned to grin at him. At that moment with the golden sunlight slanting over the both of the, Eddie felt the said heart do a few quick and jerky flip flops. "Here we are," She said as she unlocked the doors. Eddie looked suspicious as he looked up and into the windows of a men's and women's designer clothes store. "You've got to be kidding me" He said as Caitlyn looped her arm with him, half for the intimacy she felt with him, and the other half to keep him from bolting as she knew he would if he were given the chance.  
  
"It's not so bad," She murmured to him softly as she guided him into the store. "Why are we even here?" Eddie asked like a distempered smile that made Caitlyn smile. "I have a gallery meeting tonight at 7 and I need a date. The press there will be hanging all on if I brought a date, but if I bring someone who looks like you. well then they will never leave". Eddie grinned internally. No matter the generation that he might be living in, he still had the grit that drew women towards him. "Alright," He said slowly as they began to stroll through the isles.  
  
"What are you going to wear?" He asked, trying to make it should like a normal conversation. She shrugged a slim golden shoulder that the tank top left mostly bare. "I haven't decided yet. Back in Savannah they didn't care what you wore, but this isn't Savannah anymore is it?" Before waiting for a reply, Caitlyn was nearly dragging Eddie till they can upon suits. She must have pressed a million suits that ranged from black to a pale pink, which caused Eddie to promise Abby that if she bought that for him and made him wear it, he would kill her. He was about to tell her that he had a suit in the apartment and at the risk of sounding crazy he wisely shut his mouth and let Abby have her fun.  
  
After about the 37th suit, Caitlyn let out a yip of joy and thrust the suit in question to Eddie and motioned to the dressing rooms which were a little sinister looking for Eddie's taste, but to please Abby he took the suit and began to put it on. It was the color of charcoal and Eddie liked the way it felt between his fingers as he ran them over the lapel. When he was dressed he examined himself closely in the mirror. He looked good. DAMN good his mind corrected and he began to wonder if he could sweet talk a hot shower before the gallery. When he stepped out of the dressing rooms and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. She no longer looked like the sweet Caitlyn from 5 minutes ago. She looked like a blonde Hollywood bombshell for the 1930's in the angelically breezy dress that stopped just above the knee.  
  
The dress in question was valentine pink. The smooth color against the striking liquid gold skin made Eddie's mouth want to water. If her hair had been longer, she would have reminded Eddie of Veronica Lake, a beautiful actress who had died in the 1970's, so Eddie knew that if he had told Abby about this, she would think that he was totally crazy. When Caitlyn noticed his intense gaze, she began to feel a little nervous. "Do you like it? Because I can keep looking if you don't like it, I just thought that- "Before she could finish, Eddie smoothly held up a hand. "I love it. It looks amazing on you" The flattery fluttered in Caitlyn's stomach and she blushed sweetly.  
  
After they had bought the suits and they had re-entered Caitlyn's apartment, Eddie had began to feel the wear catching up to him. "Hey Duchess," He said in an exhausted voice. When Caitlyn turned to him with unflinching brightness, he winced. "Do you have a shower around?" "No, there are no showers anywhere" She said it so straight-forward and blandly that Eddie began to think that someone had ripped up the showers. When he only continued to stare, Caitlyn laughed. "I'm only kidding with you. They're there" Eddie's gaze followed where Caitlyn's finger was pointing and he nearly sighed. They hadn't moved from when he had lived there.  
  
He set the water on full cold and tried not to scream by clenching his teeth to the point he thought that they would break. He scrubbed at his skin and lathered his long body with the creamy green soap that smelled softly like the woods behind his old house in Clinton. Once he stepped out of the shower, he wrapped up in a towel and used another to dry his hair. Feeling ultimately refreshed, he looked in the mirror and noticed the stubble that was growing around his strong jaw. He ran a hand over it and determined that he could live with the scruffy look until he was able to find a way to get a razor.  
  
Caitlyn was sitting on the faded blue couch reading a magazine when Eddie walked out of the shower. "That's a good color on you" She said with a laugh as she looked up. Eddie was confused for a moment before he realized that she was talking about the bubblegum pink towel draped around his waist. "Thanks, it's been my dream to be able to pull off this color" He said with a grin. "Looks good anyway. Have a good shower?" He nodded. "The system is a little out dated, well that's a lie, but if it works and has hot water I don't care"  
  
"So what is this gallery this about?" He asked as he ran a hand through his damp hair, sending scattering raindrops of whatever everywhere. Caitlyn took her time as she turned a page in the magazine. "Have you heard of the Millistine?" She asked him. "No" Eddie said and was pleased that he didn't have to lie. She set down the magazine and patted the seat next to her. "Well it's this corporation and every year they hold an art gallery party at Gulliver's, and it's pretty much mandatory that I go" Eddie was more then a little confused. "Why?" He asked. "Because they're show casing my art"  
  
He smiled slowly. "Oh, so this is like a party for you" She had to smile. "Well yes and for the other artists, people are able to buy severely overpriced pieces of the art and if I get lucky tonight then maybe I'll be able to decorate the apartment like I've wanted to" Eddie grinned at her. "Are you any good?" He asked, though by the look of Caitlyn's long tapered fingers he already knew the answer. "I'm not bad, but I suppose that I could be better. I've been painting ever since I was like 10 years old" She looked down at the magazine and up through her eyelashes. A purely feminine look that made Eddie's heart skip a beat or two.  
  
"Oh so you're like an artist?" She stared at him blandly, her eyes swirling with both amusement and slight annoyance. "I'm not like an artist, I AM an artist" She corrected. He grinned. "Swell" He said cheekily as he pretended not to notice the odd stare that Caitlyn was giving him. "I wish I could paint," Eddie said vaguely. "I can't really do anything" She raised a slim eyebrow and the corners of her lush lips twitched into a smile.  
  
"I bet you can, you just need to find it," She said and hooked their arms together on the couch and smiled up at him. He wanted to run his fingers through the butter-soft curls and feel her skin beneath his fingers, but he knew it wouldn't be wise, not yet. "So," Caitlin said and battered her pretty eyes at him as she rested against the strength of his arm. "As soon as I can muster enough will go get up off you're arm because it's surprisingly comfy, I'm going to forgo a shower because I took one this morning, and I'm going to slip my ass into that dress and once you get dressed, or even if you don't, we're going to dazzle everyone there" Eddie laughed as she disappeared behind the bedroom door and he tried not to imagine her stripping off her clothes, it worked for a while, he didn't imagine her peeling her clothes off, he imagined himself peeling off the thin layer of silk that separated him from heaven. 


	6. Chapter Six

She emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of fragrant steam. Smelling of chocolate, Caitlyn blew him a saucy kiss, snagged the dress off the rack, and went into her room, well actually it used to be Jane's room, Eddie thought darkly and flipped a little angrily through the magazine he realized he had been strangling in his hands. Eddie had to restrain himself from wandering "innocently" into the bedroom and taking her in his arms and.Well he shouldn't think about that, but the idea was definitely appealing.  
  
Caitlyn was eyeing herself in the mirror while Eddie suffered through his horrible mental battle, going through her own battle of her own. Her damp hair hung in loose curls around her face, mouth slightly pouted a sugary pink and the new dress clung to her like a second skin and fanned out at the bottom like a mermaid's tail. Her mind kept wandering back to Eddie, how everything about him was perfect, despite the fact he was slightly weird. His smile could melt an iceberg and had wonderfully dark intense eyes. She shook her head as if to clear out the heavy fog and shuffled towards the door.  
  
Eddie had his to her as she opened the door and she tiptoed up behind him and clapped her hands over his eyes. "Guess who" She breathed in his ear. "Jane?" He asked before he could stop himself. Caitlyn stepped back and a pout crossed her lips. "Who's Jane?" She asked sulkily and Eddie wished that he could find a hole to crawl in to. "A girl I used to know, a long time ago" Caitlyn eyed him for a long minute. "What happened to her?" Eddie couldn't meet Caitlyn's eyes. "She died"  
  
"I'm sorry," Caitlyn murmured and this inexplicably put Eddie in a bad mood. "Why did you do it?" She blinked reproachfully at him and he grabbed the jacket that was hanging off the back of a chair. "Come on, we don't want to be late now do we?" She seemed to hesitate before following him towards the door, the smooth material whispered against her ankles as the heels as the door closed behind her.  
  
He was waiting a little ways down the hall looking slightly disgruntled and very handsome. "Come on cowboy" She said as she took him by the hand and ignored it when he rather stiffened. She had spent too much time around her brothers and family to worry about bruised male egos. Her heels clicked eerily in the garage. The car was still gleaming prettily in the fading sunlight that was filtering through the cement of the parking garage.  
  
Eddie was quiet while he listened to the purr of the engine until Caitlyn flicked on the stereo in the car. Doris Day's pretty voice flittered out of the small speakers but it sounded as if she were singing right next to him and into his ear. "You like Doris Day?" He asked and Caitlyn looked at him as if she forgot he was in the car. "Yeah, don't you?" He nodded. "Yeah of course I do, but Doris Day was before your time" She gave him a rather odd look. "Yours too". Eddie could only stare when Caitlyn began singing along with the radio. She had such a beautiful pure voice that it boggled him. He thought voices like that died with the Sirens.  
  
They pulled up in front a tall beautiful building that was flanked with skylights and red velvet ropes. Eddie decided that the old tradition of overacting to such events as this, but he decided that Caitlyn deserved it. She came up behind him, linked their fingers in easy companionship, and let him lead her into the building. They stepped inside and Eddie's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Almost every wall was covered by painting or charcoal drawings with talent Eddie would have done anything for. "You did all these?" He whispered in her ear and she looked up at him and grinned. "Yup"  
  
Caitlyn and Eddie winded through the crowd and smiled politely but Eddie noticed that the smile didn't reach her amazing catty eyes. "You really get a kick out of this don't you?" Eddie asked her as she watched a pretty brunette beg her husband for the painting of the long stemmed black rose that looked like blood red silk was pouring from within the petals. "Of course I do, but it's not the money Eddie, it's the thrill of knowing that something I painted is making someone happy and then I love knowing that I'll get to paint or draw something else" "You never said anything about money" Eddie said looking at her with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Money has never really interested me; I mean it's nice to have when you need it, but most of the times it's a hassle, I don't need anymore complications in my life. Come with me" She added as if it were an after thought. She gripped his hand and pulled him to the middle of the room. Before Eddie asked what she was going to do, she had gotten up on the very tip of her toes and placed a long hot kiss on his mouth. She heard him suck in a breath of surprise before he began to nibble softly on her bottom lip.  
  
There was a clucking of tongues from a group of blue-haired old women as they hurried along. Caitlyn could have gone on kissing him until the moon fell from the sky and shattered like glass over the water, and Eddie would have happily let her, but a woman with shoulder length black hair and tawny eyes came and tapped Eddie on the shoulder gingerly. "Hi," She began a little meekly when Caitlyn and Eddie broke away and Eddie looked down at her with his intense dark eyes. "This might sound a little weird, but I think I've seen a ghost because you look just like Eddie Alden"  
  
Caitlyn blinked once hard and looked up at Eddie. "Who are you?" He asked a little too sharply and made the girl flinch. "My name is Lucy Goodale- Cleese; can I talk to you for a minute?" The rest of the world seemed to drain away, all he could hear was the last name 'Goodale'. Eddie took Lucy by the arm and led her away from Caitlyn and the others who were all giving him an odd look. "You're not related to Jane Goodale are you? Not the scientist but the journalist?" Lucy nodded. "Yeah she's my great grandmother, she gave birth to my mom Mia and she had me, see I thought I was seeing a ghost because my grandmother had pictures of this guy named Eddie Alden all over her apartment. I think it's kind of weird that we would meet since we both have this weird thing in common"  
  
Eddie shook his head. "Look, Lucy is it? Do you want to get out of here? It's a little crowded in here and I need to tell you some things alright?" Lucy nodded and she followed Eddie out of the open doors. He hoped Caitlyn had not seen him leave, but it was something he had to risk, unquestionably, she would be angry, but he would deal with that later, the fact that he might have just met Jane's grand-daughter was freakishly uncanny and something he couldn't pass up.  
  
They settled themselves at a little bistro that was no quiet but the staff had not taken in the deck chairs and they were still puttering about with kettles of hot coffee for the late night patrons. "You might think I'm mad, and maybe I am because all this is getting a little too weird for me too, but I'm not related to Eddie Alden, I AM Eddie Alden" Lucy burst out laughing. "You're kidding right? I mean this has got to be some sort of joke, lets say you were who you say you are, you would be like-""132. I know it is crazy but I'm telling you the truth. What do I have to do to prove it to you?" Lucy got a gleam in her deep tawny eyes that he recognized with a bit of shock and resolution. "Sleep with me" Lucy said as she took a sip of the ice water a seemingly invisible waiter had brought. Eddie didn't bother to let his jaw drop. "If I do," He said as he toyed with the ice in his own glass. "Will you believe what I say is true?" Lucy laughed. "Honey if you really are 132 years old and you can still get it up; I'll believe anything you tell me"  
  
Eddie looked over his shoulder to Gulliver's and Lucy and sighed. "Fine, come on" He said as he rose and picked up the jacket that was lying across the wrought iron table. Lucy got up after him with a sort of smile across her unpainted lips. They walked down the lamp lit sidewalk and they turned the corner that would lead to Eddie's old apartment, he did not have to pay attention when Caitlyn was driving to know his way back, it was always in his mind, what was his but no longer his, like Jane, and maybe after tonight, Caitlyn Murphy as well. 


	7. Chapter Seven

When Eddie opened the door in front of Lucy, the world seemed to spin violently and he could have sworn that the ground tilted up and plunged him into clear very icy waters. He found himself standing in the middle of Gretchen's office. Hailey was at his left and looking at him somewhat disapprovingly. "What?" He asked her. She didn't say anything but took his hand in her small one and walked forward with him. She pressed a series of numbers on the wall and a door soon opened. "She's in there"  
  
Eddie shuffled forward and relaxed a little at Gretchen's smile. Her hair was piled on top of her head with ornate twists and curls, her dress was pure white and something like a cello was playing off somewhere as Eddie recognized as Bach's Cello Suite No.1. "Life is a series to tests Mr.Alden," Gretchen said as she looked down at her desk and continued to write something in a small notebook. "What do you mean?" Gretchen smiled once more but didn't look up. "The girl, Lucy Cleese, doesn't exist, that was a friend of mine I sent down for a little mission, Jessica, will you come in please?" She asked the open doorway and the girl he thought had been Jane's granddaughter stepped through looking a little sheepish.  
  
"None of what happened since you began kissing that young woman has actually happened at all," Jessica said in a Welsh accent carefully avoiding his gaze. "Then what have I been doing all this time?" "Well actually all that happened took place in matter of about 20 seconds, so you're still happily kissing her. I suggest that you let her get some air though" Jessica said on a laugh and earned a look from Gretchen. "I'm going to send you back now, but Eddie, before I let you go through the door, I have to give you a warning" Eddie laughed a humorless sound. "Now a warning" He muttered and Gretchen only waited patiently. "It addresses something that might be important to you, so I would listen very carefully, until you do find your true love, you won't be able to be with other women"  
  
Eddie's eyes widened dramatically. "YOU DIDN'T CUT IT OFF DID YOU?!" He asked frantically and his hands immediately grabbed the crotch of his pants. Gretchen and Jessica laughed. "No, it's all there, it just won't work until you truly love her and she loves you, what this means is if you're feeling frustrated, you just won't be able to pick up any girl you meet, well, I mean I suppose you could but she won't leave very happy" The two women laughed again and Eddie glared at them a little maliciously. "I bet the both of you think this is all very funny".  
  
Gretchen tried to compose her face but couldn't quite manage it. "Of course I don't think that Eddie" She said, but the smile was still tugging relentlessly at her pretty lips. "I think that" Jessica admitted with a huge grin and Gretchen ushered her from the room. "Ok so, I won't be able to sleep with anyone?" "That's right" Eddie looked a tad distressed. "At all?" Gretchen gave into the smile. "Not unless you're both in love, any other questions?" He hesitated a minute. "Can I.well y'know.jack off?" Gretchen raised a perfect eyebrow looking somewhere between amused and concerned. "I think it's time that we get you back to the party; I'll be seeing you soon". She placed a kiss on his cheeks and as he stepped out of the room, the music of the cello's swelled to an almost deafening pitch and he tumbled through the clear icy water and back to the party for Caitlyn at Gulliver's.  
  
As soon as he fully returned and decided to enjoy the moment and began kissing Caitlyn again, she jumped back as if she was given a huge electrical shock. "What's wrong?" He asked her and she shook her head. "Nothing, it just felt like a current ran through me" She looked beautiful, her hair mused from his hands and her eyes were huge and if possible, even brighter. A man in a perfect black suit and graying hair came up and took Caitlyn by the arm. "Excuse me Miss Murphy, a few older clients are a little disgusted by your acts" Caitlyn smiled up at him. "What act? I love kissing him" "Yes well, may I be so bold as to ask you to um.stop?" She seemed to consider this for a minute. "You can, but I thought asking made it optional"  
  
The man sniffed once and spun on his heels. Eddie grinned down at Caitlyn. "I knew you had it in you?" Caitlyn smiled with over exaggerated innocence. "Why whatever do you mean Edward?" She asked and he kissed her forehead. How could someone actually be so cute without bursting into flames or a mountain of sugar? He took the opportunity to link their fingers and wander around the glossy art house.  
  
The same music he had heard in Gretchen's office started playing over hidden speakers and Eddie wondered if Gretchen saw the irony of it all. Caitlyn turned and wrapped her arms around his neck as she got on her tiptoes. "There's just something so sexy about seeing you in a crowd, I could make love to you right now" Eddie braced himself against the earthy sexual suggestions and took her by the shoulders gently and eased her back. "Why don't I get us something to drink?" He asked and quickly left the situation. Caitlyn stared at his back confused, she had moved to simply give him and hug and he was acting as if she were about to attack him. He certainly was odd, odd and appealing anyway.  
  
She found him halfway between her and the drinks; he was staring at something on the wall. She came to his side and grinned up at it. "That's the first thing I've seriously painted, it's called The Devil's Son" He nodded somewhat numbly. "It looks like me," He said and Caitlyn looked between the two. "I suppose it does, wow, a lot, creepy". She giggled a little and Eddie looked down at her. "Sorry, I just think it's a little weird. This place is kind of stuffy isn't it?" She asked as she put her hands on her tiny hips. "Yeah it is," Eddie agreed still looking up at the painting. "Do you wanna get out of here then? Let's get something to eat, I'm starving."  
  
He nodded and followed her out the glassy doors and onto the pavement. "I know this little place, Ty told me about it, it's called O'Grady's. It's by Carnegie Hall, it would be a bit of a walk but it's such a nice night I don't feel like driving, and besides if you drive, I can give you a blowjob" Eddie gave her an odd face. "Unless.you don't like the weather," She said uncertainly. "No, its fine, we'll walk I don't mind, come on, I know where O'Grady's is, it's good, you'll like it. Well, let's get going then" He entwined their fingers and began to walk and talking about nothing at all. 


End file.
